


A Very Not-Australian Holiday

by letters_of_stars



Category: Free!
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, freesecretsanta2015
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-08 19:21:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5510036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/letters_of_stars/pseuds/letters_of_stars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin's stay in Haru and Makoto's apartment is filled with the unexpected: massive snowstorms, a possible yeti invasion, and the small fact that his two best friends are suddenly interested with polyamory.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Very Not-Australian Holiday

**Author's Note:**

> this was written for the free! fandom secret santa exchange 2015! [hpdneptune](http://www.hpdneptune.tumblr.com) requested fluffy makoharurin so this is my attempt to deliver! this is my first attempt at polyamorous relationships so i kinda wanted to explore how it might come about~  
> but anyways, i hope you like it! happy holidays!

He forgot his gloves. 

He forgot his gloves and now his hands are probably going to freeze off and what sort of pathetic career-ender is that? He can’t swim without hands. Or, at least, not very well. Not at Olympic level. His coaches will kill him. And it’s not like he has any excuses. Kou had gifted him a nice pair of gloves last year and Makoto had even reminded him where they were before Rin ran out the door this afternoon. He’d just completely forgotten them. 

And even if he manages to keep hands from falling off, there’s still the likelihood he’s going to get run over anyway. It’s happened twice already. Rin can barely make anything out through the slurry of snow pelting into his face, and the ground has been covered by a thick layer of snow that hides the ice beneath. Basically a deathtrap for any unlucky civilian (him) who happens to be walking along when a driver who also can’t see anything hits a patch of ice and leaves the civilian (still him) splattered across the snow like a particularly gruesome Rorschach test. 

Also, he thinks he’s getting a cold. 

All in all, this is the most miserable day he can remember in years and definitely not what he’d had in mind when he decided to go home to Japan for the holidays. 

Useless newscasters, saying there might be a few ‘flurries’ in the evening. This is more like the coming of a new ice age. 

And of course Nagisa just  _ had _ to call him in the middle of it, forcing Rin into seeking sanctuary in a coffee shop just so he could hear above the wind. If it was almost anyone else he would have ignored it, but Nagisa is basically his little brother at this point which would make him a Grade A asshole if Rin just carried on. But it had made him another fifteen minutes late and he’s just started properly grumbling about  _ that _ when he nearly walks right past the sign for the apartment complex. At least he didn’t miss it completely—if anything could make this night any worse, it would be getting lost and forcing Haru and Makoto to come out looking for him. All they’d find would probably be a popsicle anyway. 

So it’s with relief and a bit too much spring in his step that Rin spins on his heel and heads for the stairs...only to end up three seconds later sprawled across the sidewalk. “Damn it, damn it, damn it,” he mutters, rubbing the back of his head and cursing all ice, newscasters, and just weather in general. He grabs hold of both railings as he heads up to the third story, moving slowly with eyes shut tight against the bitter wind that can only find him easier as he climbs. 

The apartment door is unlocked at least, and stepping inside is like stepping into a sauna. Rin shuts his eyes in relief as he closes the door and sinks down against it, the warmth prickling at his ears and fingertips and nose. Well, at least he came back with what he left for. He feels the edges of the envelope hidden in his pocket and allows himself a smile. 

“Rin?” Makoto’s voice. “Is that you?”

Rin hides the envelope deeper into his pocket, tugs his hat off, and watches the snow fall down to his shoulders and the mat beneath him. “Yeah, it’s me.” He pushes his hands against his knees and stands back up in time to flash a smile in Makoto’s direction when Makoto peers out from the kitchen. “It’s really coming down out there.” 

“Do you miss Australia yet?” Makoto asks, but it’s with a hint of a smile. Rin chuckles and starts to unbutton his coat. His fingers are still frozen and fumbling. He catches Makoto watching his slow progress, but Makoto doesn’t say anything about the pair of gloves left abandoned on the table, so Rin doesn’t either. 

“It had its perks,” Rin says in response to Makoto’s question, and then peeks around him into the kitchen, wondering why Haru hasn’t come out yet. 

“He went to the store,” Makoto says, catching on at once. “They were saying on the television we might lose power, so we want to have lots of food in case we’re snowed in.” 

“You sent  _ Haru _ to do the grocery shopping?” Rin raises an eyebrow, wondering just how many ways Makoto and Haru have learned to cook mackerel in the three years they’ve been together in Tokyo. “Okay, your call. I’m gonna take a quick shower.” 

By the time he’s showered and changed into dry clothes, Haru has returned from the store with three bags bursting with groceries. He doesn’t look at all fazed by the weather. But snow is water in a way, so not like Rin is really that surprised. Maybe Haru even enjoyed it. He doesn’t seem in a hurry to change out of his wet things. “Hey,” Rin says, nodding with a towel still slung around his neck, and Haru nods back, a glimmer of a smile appearing on his face. It makes Rin’s stomach flip-flop. It feels so good, to be back with the two of them. It’s been far too long. 

The television is turned on in the corner of the kitchen counter, and Makoto is watching intently as he puts the groceries away. “Apparently the storm is even worse out near the coast,” he says when he notices Rin there. “Think the others are okay?” 

Rin nods. “I was on the phone with Nagisa walking back here.” He rubs the towel through his hair and slips his feet into the baggy loose ends of his sweatpants to keep them warm. “He was stuck at the train station.”

Haru frowns. “Is he okay?”

Rin shrugs one shoulder. He’d gotten the impression Nagisa was mostly bored. “He spent most of the time telling me about this movie he watched with time-travelling yetis and whether I thought they’d show up in the storm. And then Rei found him.” 

Makoto and Haru both visibly relax at Rei’s name. “Okay, they’re together, they’re fine,” Makoto says, and Haru nods, before ducking beneath Makoto to stow some bread away in the cupboard. Makoto’s hands brush against Haru’s shoulders as he stands, such a casual touch that makes Rin feel a bit awkward, just another thing to add to the list that’s been building up ever since the two of them met him at the airport this morning. He can’t think of any way to bring it up that won’t be monumentally embarrassing, so he leans against the counter as casually as he can. “So...I guess Nagisa is staying at Rei’s for a while then?” But Makoto just utters a casual yes, no telling inflictions there, which leaves Rin hanging as to what Nagisa and Rei’s relationship is like these days. 

“They can make plans for the yetis together,” Haru deadpans, which helps even less, and then goes to keep helping Makoto with the groceries. Rin rocks forward, and then falls back. It isn’t his kitchen. It isn’t his home. He doesn’t know where they keep the bread or store the spices. He just stands there awkwardly with hands stuffed in the pockets of his sweatpants.

Standing awkwardly with his hands stuffed in his pockets might as well encompass his whole experience coming to Tokyo though, if he’s being completely honest. Because here’s the thing he can’t shake: it feels like an intrusion. Although it’s definitely not the first time he’s been back to Japan and not the first time he’s seen Makoto and Haru since they moved to Tokyo, it’s his first extended stay, even if he’s only been here since this morning. It feels like he’s been walking on tiptoes, part of the reason he was eager to get out this afternoon, even with the forecast being what it was. Because if he has no idea where Rei and Nagisa’s relationship has gone over the past three years, it’s all too obvious where Makoto and Haru’s has gone, even if they might be doing their best to hide it. Rin may have spent a lot of time near Australia’s beaches, but he doesn’t have his head completely buried in the sand. The ease with which Haru and Makoto move about each other, the significant glances they share that seem to hold entire conversations just with a flicker of the eyes, the way they seem to know instinctively when the other is about to enter the room or come knocking at the front door. Rin might not know much about the nature of their relationship, but for sure this isn’t the sort of platonic relationship that gets dropped right after Makoto graduates. This is the sort of ‘stay together for the rest of our lives’ sort of relationship and it is so, so,  _ so  _ damn awkward being caught in the middle of it, during the holidays no less. 

As good as it feels to be here, it’s amazing how lonely he’s able to feel around the two of them, knowing they have their own little world that he’s not a part of. 

He’s snapped out of his melancholy by Haru switching off the television. “Hungry?” he asks, and Rin nods. “We’ll make dinner.” 

“I can help!” Rin insists, taking a step forward, but Makoto just turns to him with one of his honest, open smiles. 

“You’re a guest! We can’t have you cooking for yourself!” 

“If this is about the riceball incident, I’ve gotten much more careful!” Rin protests, even as Makoto takes him by the shoulders and steers him out of the kitchen towards the second-hand sofa out in the open living area. 

“You’re still a guest.” 

Rin huffs as Makoto leaves him for the kitchen, and grabs the book he was reading earlier, curling up in the corner of the sofa and tugging the blanket up over his shoulders. He’s still not quite warmed up from his trek outside. He focuses on the words and not the banging and muffled voices coming from the kitchen, but that just ends with his eyes beginning to slide closed until he’s too tired to fight it. 

Haru wakes him with a gentle touch to the arm, but Rin still starts, the book flopping to the floor as he fights to kick the blanket from his legs. By the time he’s oriented himself, Rin is sure Haru is trying his hardest to hide his laughter. “Dinner,” Haru tells him in a soft voice, and Rin nods. He can already see Makoto setting everything up at the table. And the apartment smells like mackerel. Surprise surprise.

Both Haru and Makoto have changed into more casual clothing, so at least Rin doesn’t stand out on that account. He sits at the table and smiles at the array of food: grilled mackerel, miso soup, rice, stew… “You actually can cook something other than mackerel. Well, stuff in addition to it.” 

Makoto seems a little offended as he sits down around the corner to Rin’s left. “Well, we managed to survive this long without dying of malnutrition. It’s not great but…” 

“You think I get anything like this in Aussie?” Rin grins. “This is great!” And it is. Burnt bits and all. 

At least they let him help clean up afterwards. Haru washes dishes, Rin dries, and Makoto puts them away. An efficient machine. 

And then the lights flicker. “Uh oh,” Rin has time to mutter before the lights go out altogether. 

“Makoto, I’m getting the flashlights,” Haru says immediately and firmly, and Rin can feel Makoto freeze beside him. Right. Makoto was never good with the dark. Rin reaches out blindly until his hand makes contact with skin. Makoto’s hand. Well. Rin grabs Makoto’s hand. It’s nearly pitch black, except for the window where they can watch the storm outside. Haru is rummaging in a cupboard over by the sink. There’s a bang and a muffled curse and then a light is shining right on Rin and Makoto. “There we go.” Haru’s voice. 

Rin’s first instinct is to jerk his hand out of Makoto’s grasp, but Makoto doesn’t seem keen on letting go, so Rin’s stuck again. What’s Haru going to think, with Rin holding hands with his...special friend? 

Apparently nothing, because he just walks forward with one flashlight in hand and a smaller one held between his teeth and takes Makoto’s other hand, leading the three of them towards the rundown couch. It creaks ominously beneath their combined weight but holds. Rin grabs the blanket and tosses it across to Haru, so they’re all covered up. It’s going to get cold in here if the power stays out for long. Haru turns off the smaller flashlight and sets the big one down on the small table in front of them, flipped up so it illuminates the ceiling and adds enough light for them to see each other. 

Makoto has turned a little red. “You can both let go now.” 

Rin does at once, both hands springing back to his lap where it’s safe. He’s not sure about Haru. 

Silence. Awkward silence. Or maybe Rin is the only one who thinks it’s awkward. He’s the one who ends up breaking it. “So what do we do now?”

“Wait for the power to come back on,” Haru answers patiently. 

“That could be hours,” Makoto frets. 

Rin grins. “I’ll call Nagisa and ask him to tell us some ghost stori—ow, ow, Makoto, I was  _ kidding _ …”

“Let’s grab the bedrolls,” Haru decides. “We can stay here for the night.”

 

***

 

With the bedrolls side-by-side, it actually makes for a pretty comfortable arrangement. Haru keeps the big flashlight on the table, with extra batteries nearby just in case. If Rin could imagine the blizzard outside turning into fluffy white snowflakes falling gently, it would be even be like they’re kids again, having a sleepover. He remembers nights with Sousuke and Kou making animal puppets against the wall with stolen away flashlights, and how they’d laugh so hard at the most ridiculous things the more tired they became. He ends up in the middle between Haru and Makoto, for what reasons he doesn’t know. They’ve just gotten the bedrolls laid out and snuggled themselves into them when Rin realizes his phone is still in his pocket—and buzzing. He grabs it and opens Kou’s text. Asking him if he’s alright since she heard part of Tokyo lost power. He texts her back quickly saying that yeah, they lost power but they’re fine, hope she’s good, talk to her soon. And, right away, as a preventative measure, he texts Nagisa saying the same, except he adds that there are no yetis so far.

Nagisa texts him back: None? ｡:ﾟ(;´∩`;)ﾟ:｡

Rin laughs a little, snorting through his nose, and places his phone up on the table by the flashlight. 

“Who was that?” Haru’s soft voice. 

Rin lies back down on his stomach, head turned in Haru’s direction. The way the flashlight is turned up towards the ceiling means he can just make out Haru’s face—his big eyes, the straight mouth that rarely betrays any emotion. “Kou. And then Nagisa. Letting them know we’re alright,” Rin answers, speaking in a whisper. He can already hear the gentle, steady sound of Makoto’s breathing on his other side. Makoto’s always been that way though, as far back as Rin can remember. Falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow. 

Rin frowns and checks to see if he can find his book anywhere. He’s the opposite. He’s never able to fall asleep right away. 

He’s just ducking his head beneath the table when Haru speaks next. “Are you uncomfortable, here with us?” 

He nearly hits his head on the table, scoots back down, and bits at his lip as he pointedly doesn’t meet Haru’s eyes. “No.” 

“You are.” 

Sometimes, it’s like Haru can see right through him, oftentimes seeing what Rin couldn’t even see himself. This time, at least, he knows Haru is telling the truth. “Okay, maybe.” 

“Why?” Haru is all settled, head pillowed on folded arms. Rin sighs, and turns over so he can prop himself up on his elbows. Maybe it will be easier bringing this up, if he doesn’t look at Haru’s face and doesn’t have to deal with both of them at the same time. 

“Look...Haru…”

Haru doesn’t give him anything to go off of, just keeps staring at him, and Rin sighs again as he sits up completely and rubs a hand over his face. “Just feeling like a third wheel I guess,” he mutters. 

“Hmm?” 

Thanks Haru. Really contributing to the conversation. “I mean...you and Makoto are…” He sneaks a peek at Haru, who’s still watching him blankly. “You know...romantic sort of…” 

Finally, Haru frowns, and follows Rin’s lead in sitting upright. “Yes? Yes, we are?” His eyebrows tilt downward in just a hint of what Rin realizes is nervousness. “Do you think there’s anything wrong with it?”

“No! No, no, no, I…” That’s the last thing he wants to convey. “I just...with the two of you, and then me...wouldn’t you rather be spending the holiday with just the two of you? If you’re...like that?” 

Haru doesn’t say anything. Rin groans and covers his face with both hands. “I feel like I’m ruining the holidays for you! When it should just be the two of you! Why would you invite me?” 

Haru answers like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “Because we didn’t want it to be just the two of us.” 

There’s something strange in the way he says it that has Rin peering out from behind his hands. “What?” 

Haru simply repeats himself. “We didn’t want it to be just the two of us.” 

There’s what someone says, and then there’s what someone  _ says _ . “What do you mean by that?” He pushes the first thought down immediately. That’s just the loneliness of Australia talking. Not sense. But he feels ridiculously vulnerable, sitting here in his pajamas in the soft light while Makoto sleeps beside him. It’s Haru and his ridiculous, truth-seeing eyes. 

“I mean it’s been a long time, and we’ve missed you.” 

Oh. That makes sense. And there he was, getting all panicked. 

“Is there anyone you’re seeing, in Australia?”

And of course Haru has to come right out of left field. “Why does that matter?” 

Haru just smiles his enigmatic smile. “Because what I say next will depend a lot on your answer.”

Rin’s face is going hot. If the heat stays off for too long they’ll all just be able to gather around his head to stay warm. “If I said there was someone?” 

He tries to see if Haru looks disappointed, but Haru is simply way too good at masking his emotions. Something Rin has always wanted to strip away, for Haru to let his feelings show on his face and let Rin in. It seems unfair, that Haru is so difficult to read while Rin knows he wears every emotion on his sleeve. It makes conversations like this so difficult. “Then I’ll lie back down and go to sleep,” Haru answers simply. 

Rin gulps, feels the motion of it down his throat. “And...and if I said there hasn’t been anyone?” 

And there. Finally. Haru’s eyes flicker and he looks away, voice rough when he replies, “Then I would ask if this was okay.” A slender hand works its way across the space between them until Haru’s fingers brush against Rin’s. Rin feels like he can’t breathe as he flips his hand over and lets Haru squeeze their hands together. 

“M-Makoto…” he manages at last, jerking his head in the other direction. “What about…? You can’t just…”

Haru frowns, and scoots closer so Rin can see his face better. “Makoto and I have discussed this. A lot. I thought inviting you for the holidays would be a chance to see…”

“See what?” Rin’s still having trouble filling his lungs. 

Haru stares intently at their entwined hands. “If this is something you would want, maybe. You could think about it.” 

“And what is ‘this’?” This is way too much, all at once.

Haru glances back up at him and smiles. Shy. Hesitant. “The three of us. Makoto and I...I told you we discussed it. We wanted to...wanted to have you over. Just in case. So we could ask if this is something you could want too.” 

“I...I...I…” 

Haru gives his hand a squeeze. “You don’t have to give us an answer right away. And we can talk about it. All you want.”

“You’ve never been much of a talker.”

“I can be. When it really matters.” Haru squeezes his hand again. “Sleep on it.” He lets go, and starts to shuffle back into his own bedroll. “Goodnight.” 

“‘night.” Rin frowns as Haru bundles himself back up, and only after a while does he lie back down. He lays his head down and that’s when he notices Haru’s hand, open between them. An invitation? 

His fingers touch light upon Haru’s palm, and Haru makes a small contented noise as he clasps their hands together. Rin feels his face heat up again, but it’s accompanied by a similar heating in his stomach. A good kind. 

The three of them together. He’s still fuzzy on the details of what Haru means exactly, but as he lies there with Haru’s hand warm in his, he can’t help but come up with scenarios in his head, the kind of scenarios he had never allowed himself to imagine in high school because they were far too dangerous to act upon. What could it be like? To wake in the mornings with two warm bodies beside his? To live drying dishes in an efficient team and carefully not burning the riceballs? To sleep with (oh man) the taste of both their kisses on his lips? To be loved by both these boys he’s always felt some inexplicable connection to and to be free to love them as well…?

The very thought probably has him turning beet red. Ridiculous, him getting so worked up when that’s probably not even what Haru meant, so here he is losing his mind and probably worrying over it the whole night while Haru and Makoto sleep peacefully beside him. He slaps his free hand over his face, and is pretty sure he hears Haru snort. Jerk. 

At least Haru’s hand is very warm. 

 

***

 

He wakes up alone, to sounds from the kitchen. Rin groans and rubs at his eyes. True to his prediction, he’d been up most of the night, thoughts churning around and around his head. Normally he’d get up and see what’s making all that noise, but instead he rolls over and buries his face in the bedroll. He has a headache now too. He might fall back asleep for a few minutes, because next thing he knows Makoto—freshly showered, by the look of it—is shaking him with a gentle touch. “We got power back.” 

Rin knows. He’d been the one to abandon the warm huddle of bedrolls at three in the morning to quickly turn off the lights before they woke the other two up. 

“Shower’s free,” Makoto tells him, and that’s enough to propel Rin upright. A shower, to clear his head. 

But his head doesn’t get clear at all, still too wrapped around Haru’s words from last night. It had been so sudden, springing that on him. Haru probably just meant that he and Makoto would like to spend more time with Rin, that has to be it. What had he said? That they wanted ‘the three of us’. Rin had let his imagination run wild. He won’t bring it up. Not the handholding either. That was just some...leftover emotion from high school. That’s it. 

He grabs some shampoo and scrubs it through his hair, wincing when some bubbles slide into one eye. Yes, he’d just misunderstood. It was late. He was tired. He was cold. He’d been talking to Nagisa, which is definitely enough to slightly skew any person’s perception of reality. Yeti attacks and a polyamorous relationship with two of his best high school friends. About the same likelihood of actual occurrence. 

Rin rinses the shampoo out and ends the shower, a little sooner than he would normally, but he doesn’t want to add to Haru and Makoto’s water bill, plus he had a shower already last night. His towel is still a little damp from the night before, so he’s quick to change into jeans and a sweatshirt. And warm socks. 

Haru and Makoto are sitting at the table when he emerges, breakfast set out before them. Rin sends them a small smile as he sits down cross-legged, and Haru nods at him in greeting. Makoto, on the other hand, turns to him, bites at his lip, turns back to his breakfast, back to Rin, over to Haru, who nods again, and then to Rin again. “Haru said he talked to you last night,” he says in maybe the most trepidacious voice he’s ever heard come out of Makoto’s mouth, and Rin nearly chokes on his egg.

The other two patiently wait out his coughing fit, and Haru hands him a napkin to wipe his mouth. Rin downs half a cup of lukewarm tea and can finally breathe again. 

“What...what, um…” Okay, this is fucking ridiculous. He places both hands on the table to steady himself. “Okay, what the hell did any of that mean? The three of us?” He sighs and cocks his head to one side, staring at Haru across the table from him. “And holding my hand? Does that mean you want…” He coughs again. “Some weird threesome or something?” He’s trying to sound experienced and roughened, but he’s probably already red in the face and his voice squeaks on the word ‘threesome’ and Makoto and Haru are going to say…

“No!” 

...and he’s probably going to  _ cry _ because he always cries and…

“Not as in a threesome thing!” Makoto continues in a yelp, one hand reaching out and grabbing Rin’s on the table. “Not a sex thing!”

The word ‘sex’ sounds weird coming out of Makoto mouth. Don’t ask him why.

“Hopefully a sex thing,” Haru comments, and takes a sip of tea, eyes on the ceiling. “Occasionally.” 

Makoto whips his head around with an exasperated sigh. “Haru, that’s not helping.” Back to Rin. His hand is shaking, Rin realizes, where it’s wrapped around Rin’s own fingers. Slowly, cautiously, he uses his other hand to try to still it, and Makoto looks up at him with surprise written all over his face, so Rin just holds his hand all the harder. 

Makoto was never like Haru. Every emotion is etched into his eyes, the creases in his forehead, the shape of his mouth. Makoto is nervous. And not because it’s a sex thing. Because…

Because it’s something more than that. 

“You mean...like a relationship thing?” Rin whispers. “You and me and Haru together?”

“Yes, that’s what we mean,” Haru supplies, ever so helpful. Rin gets the feeling Haru is having too much fun with this. Makoto just nods, the lines around his eyes relaxing a little. 

“ _ Why _ ?” Rin blurts out, and takes his hands back. “Aren’t you two happy?” It’s obvious they are! Probably have been for all three years they’ve been in Tokyo together while Rin’s been alone is Australia. Ready to spend their lives together, gross couple stuff, ridiculously happy!

Makoto sits upright, eyes wide, and then goes pink and pokes at his breakfast. “Yes, we are,” he answers at last. “But there’s no reason that couldn’t...couldn’t…”

“There’s no reason that happiness couldn’t include you too.” Haru takes over, sliding around and putting an arm around Makoto’s waist and rubbing his thumb soothingly over the skin exposed where Makoto’s shirt rides up. The most intimate display of affection Rin has seen out of them yet, but they’ve probably been holding back for his sake. Three years, after all. “Rin, you have to know...how much you mean to me…” And is that Haru going pink at the cheeks? Rin needs to take a photo to commemorate it. But already Makoto is adding in. 

“And me. You mean a lot to both of us and we wondered if you’d…”

“Give it a try,” Haru finishes. “While you’re here. And if it works out well, then when you return to Japan, we’ll know that that’s the direction we’re heading for.” 

Rin gapes at the two of them, and then gulps. “You’re serious.”

They nod in unison.

“You’d want that with...me?” 

“Makoto first suggested the idea,” Haru tells him. “We’ve been talking about this for almost a year, and we’re sure we’d be okay with it. All that was left was ask if you’d be willing to try.” 

Rin gulps down the rest of his tea and beats a rhythm with one finger on the table. “And...and...and what would this relationship mean? Like...what would we do?”

“A lot of the same things we’re doing now!” Makoto assures him. “Living together, sleeping together, eating together…” 

Haru clears his throat, and Rin right away sees the glint in his blue eyes. “But then some other things...Rin…” Haru moves around so he’s attached to Makoto’s other shoulder, and when he reaches out, he can just brush his fingers against Rin’s face. Rin follows like he’s magnetized, realizes what Haru is doing, and tries to quell the ten million butterflies that just erupted inside his stomach. This is happening, this is actually happening,  _ this is actually happening _ , he’s got to the luckiest person on Earth right now…

And then Haru’s hands have guided Makoto and Rin’s lips together, and Makoto gasps a little at first contact, so warm and gentle, and Rin reacts to that stronger than he would he guessed, surging forward and taking the kiss from light and innocent to something much deeper, hands pressing against Makoto’s chest as he shuts his eyes and tastes the sweetness of Makoto’s lips, tries to suck and bite that sweetness away to reach whatever is hidden beneath it. Makoto takes it, small puffy breaths escaping into Rin’s mouth, and then moans, the sound starting as a rumble beneath Rin’s hands and ending as a low growl in his mouth. Rin opens his eyes and finds that Haru has started kissing Makoto’s neck, going slow and careful, but when his eyes meet Rin’s, he takes Rin’s chin in hand and drags him away from Makoto’s mouth and Makoto makes a noise of contentment and puts hands out to support Rin as he balances up on his knees and leans over to meet Haru’s mouth right over Makoto’s shoulder. Unlike Makoto, Haru meets the aggression of Rin’s kiss back just as hard, but his hand on Rin’s chin is gentle, as are Makoto’s hands on his back and chest, and Makoto just keeps making those happy noises and Haru’s eyes are only half-closed so he can keep contact with Rin nearly the whole time they’re kissing and after those years of loneliness in Australia it feels so alien and unexpected and wonderful to feel so much attention on him all at once, to feel so  _ cared for  _ and  _ loved _ …

Rin breaks the kiss and scrambles backwards, wiping an arm over his eyes furiously. And he’s crying. Great. Great. 

“What’s wrong?” Makoto is asking, hands hovering as he wonders if he should touch Rin

at all. “I’m sorry, we’re sorry…” 

Rin laughs, and shakes his head as he keeps his eyes hidden by his arm. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m just...it’s a lot to take in.” He breathes in deep, and uncovers his face. “But a good thing to take in, I think.” 

Makoto beams at him, and Haru smiles his gentle smile. 

“I think I’d be up for seeing what it might be like,” Rin adds, and then sighs as his stomach growls. “After breakfast.” 

They all need breakfast. Rin tries not to spend too much time grinning like a complete fool. “The city’s pretty much shut down,” Makoto reports from the news he’d watched earlier. “Too much snow.”

Rin nods at Haru. “Good thing you went shopping last night then.” 

“We’re pretty much snowed in for now,” Makoto admits, and all three of them look towards the window where the storm still rages. “Do you think the power will go out again?” 

Should he say it? Is it too soon? 

Probably too soon, but he’ll say it anyway. Those kisses from earlier haven’t left his mind.

“I can think of a few fun things to do if we lose the heat again,” Rin says with a grin. 

Haru snorts into his porridge and Makoto goes a little red, and Rin has to hide his mouth, just so they don’t see the sickeningly sweet smile his mouth turns to. Maybe being snowed in isn’t a bad thing after all. 

Except. 

“Wait here,” he says, and scrambles upright to go find his jacket from last night, still damp from snow where he left it in a heap. He digs the envelope from the pocket, bending it a little at the corners, and then slides back into place at the table. 

“I was waiting until Christmas, but I’ll give it to you guys now,” he says, passing the envelope to Makoto. “Picked them up from the travel agency yesterday.” Makoto frowns, and flips the envelope flap up so he can pull out the little slips of paper. 

“Rin…” 

He grins. “I’ve been talking to Nagisa for ages about this actually. He said they’d make sure you were free that week.” 

“Nagisa invited us to stay with them so we could watch him in a checkers tournament,” Makoto mutters, passing the tickets to Haru and then sighing. “I thought he was lying until Rei joined in. Said they had to plan these things sometimes years in advance. Those two...” 

“You already took me to Australia,” Haru complains, and it’s Rin’s turn to sigh. 

“Yeah, but this time it’ll be like a vacation. I’ve found all sorts of cool places to hang out and the water will be perfect for swimming.” He grins and tilts his head to the side. “Just the three of us.”  He shrugs one shoulder. “I mean...you know, if it turns out we like it when it’s the three of us, wouldn’t a vacation be sort of nice? And to see each other again this summer?”  

Haru bites at his lip, and then finally shuts his eyes with a sigh and nods a little, smile appearing probably against his will. 

“Rin…” Makoto says softly, and Rin turns to him instead now, and Makoto surprises him by leaning forward and kissing him very chastely on the mouth. “Thank you. That’ll be wonderful.” He leans back, eyes flickering all over Rin’s face, searching for discomfort or doubt perhaps. “Okay?”

Rin’s lips are tingling, his stomach full of butterflies again. And even if the prospect of polyamory is a bit daunting, doubt is the last thing he’s feeling right now. No. It’s determination. “Definitely okay.” 

This might be the furthest thing from conventional, but Rin has never been strived for normalcy by any means. He leans forward to return the kiss, and grins when he notices Haru watching them with wide eyes. 

Maybe being snowed in won’t be so bad afterall. 

But still. 

“I am going to show you  _ sand _ .” 

  
  



End file.
